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film study: your NEW favorite Christmas film that you’ve NEVER heard of — Treevenge

With Christmas creeping in closer [and closer] everyday, I tried to find a film that had kept with the horror aspect, as well as keep the Holiday Spirit intact. With that, I present my [newest] favorite Christmas film: Treevenge. In this classic Holiday film, we meet foul-mouthed lumberjacks who come upon a hillside of trees, and proceed with cutting them down and bringing them to Christmas tree lots where families take their pick of the group, take it home, stick it in a tree-stand, and decorate it.. like most people do during the Christmas holiday, right? However, these “trees” are not like most trees, they’re sentient – and find themselves experiencing terror and fear during this; so much, that we actually can hear their screams of pain when chopped and/or sawed on. The trees feel the emotion of separation from their family and friends, they fear the unknown, and most of all – the despair they feel during the strange and bizarre rituals of families at Christmas. But these trees have a plan: on Christmas morning, the trees will strike back. Every Man, woman and child [sometimes, even pets] may be in for a grisly end!

Treevenge is a short which clocks in at around 16 minutes from 2008, produced by Yer Dead Productions, who are more famously known for being the company behind the “Slumber Party Alien Abduction” segment from V/H/S/2 and even Hobo With A Shotgun! But before you jump at me and say this film sounds ridiculous, think about it for a minute: this is actually a really cool concept, with the trees being the primary “evil” rather than a typical human killer. The film is gruesome at best, and hilariously entertaining to watch.

The film is still playing at festivals around the globe, and chopping fans down the fans everywhere, even though the movie is over 5 years old! In fact, amongst the very stiff competition, Treevenge got an honorable mention at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. [hey, somethings better than nothing at all, right?] Rue Morgue Magazine even awarded the creators with “best short horror film” back in 2009! But don’t let me tell you how good Treevenge is, let the film itself do the work. Because, as it turns out — the film in it’s entirety is on youtube, and because it’s the season of giving, I’m going to share this gem with each and every one of you. Just be careful when decorating your tree this year, because eventually, even trees have had enough, and one branch — just might snap when you least expect it..